The Industry Creator - Still Innovating Today
In 1968, Terry Loebel, a young aspiring entrepreneur, created the concept of “shared direct mail” for local businesses. Because his idea of sharing the envelope’s postage cost, 14 local businesses in Clearwater, Florida were able to have their advertising messages and call-to-action coupons delivered to 20,000 selected homes in their trading area for pennies per household.
Over the years, Valpak grew from Terry and his family sitting at their kitchen table stuffing envelopes to become the largest cooperative direct mailer in North America operating from a 470,000 square foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located just a few miles from where Valpak was born. More than 160 franchisees now provide Valpak’s proven direct marketing products to over 65,000 businesses. Valpak mails more than 20 billion coupons reaching over 45 million select households every month in over 100 markets. In all, nearly 500 million blue envelopes will mail annually. In 1991, Valpak was acquired by Cox Enterprises, one of largest media companies in North America.
Valpak has continued to innovate and lead the industry by introducing unique direct mail product formats, advertising ROI tools, and digital advertising products. Today Valpak franchisees provide their advertising customers the ability to target traditional direct mail coupons along with Internet, mobile and text advertising, plus a “Daily Deals” product.
Is a Valpak franchise right for you?
Owning a franchise is a big step. It’s important to us that this business opportunity meets your personal and professional objectives. Valpak has helped hundreds of other franchise owners achieve their income, lifestyle and legacy goals. We may be right for you too.
- Do you want to build value in a business that you control?
- Do you want to transition into a career that is more rewarding than the one you are currently in?
- Are you looking for a low investment opportunity to achieve your personal and professional goals?
- Do you have a strong sales or sales management background?
- Do you enjoy sales and building relationships with current and future clients?
- Can you make cold calls and network to establish relationships?
- Do you have strong organizational and leadership skills?
How much does it cost to open a Valpak franchise?
Typical startup costs start at $32,500 for our smallest markets. Candidates need to have a minimum of $75,000 in liquid assets (for startup fees & operating capital) and a minimum $150,000 net worth.
Valpak has programs that allow new franchisees, in new markets, to pro-rate their territory acquisition fees over time as their franchise grows.
Veterans may qualify to receive a discount of 20% for opening a new franchise.
Valpak franchises are typically awarded for an entire market. For example, if you own the Valpak franchise in Macon, Georgia, you own the entire Macon metropolitan area as designated by the U.S. Office of Management & Budget.
→ View currently available dormant and operating markets
What are the next steps?
Valpak franchisees grow their business while helping their neighbors and local business owners grow their business using the Valpak direct marketing system and Valpak products.
Valpak invites you to go through our evaluation process which typically takes 60 days to complete and consists of online self-discovery tools and 1-2 phone appointments per week of approximately 30-45 minutes each. The process is designed to help you learn the Valpak business model, and through investigation and interaction, determine if this is the right business opportunity for you.
Overview and Expectations + Expand
Complete the short form on our home page. This will give you access to the first stage of the investigation where you will get an initial foundation of information about Valpak and the direct mail industry.
The Opportunity + Expand
If you choose to proceed, we’ll ask you for a bit more information so we can get to know you. We’ll call to schedule a convenient time to discuss your background and objectives and explain more about our business model. We'll introduce you to a Valpak franchisee who will describe a typical day, and you'll have an opportunity to review our different ad products and promotion strategy. At the end of this step you’ll be invited to complete our application and receive our Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
FDD Review and Training / Support + Expand
We’ll answer any questions you have after reviewing our Franchise Disclosure Document and provide details on our award-winning sales training programs and how we provide extensive support to all of our franchisees. At the end of this section we’ll invite you to complete a behavioral assessment profile to benchmark you against successful Valpak franchisees’ profiles. This is also the step where we’ll encourage you to talk with Valpak franchisees to hear their perspective and experiences with Valpak.
Technology + Expand
One of Valpak’s key differentiators is the incomparable technology we provide our franchisees. From lead generation to ad design and order process, to printing coupons and providing the software to run your franchise, Valpak creates efficiencies so you can focus primarily on sales and working with your clients.
Meet the Family Day + Expand
When we get to this step, and we’ve both determined that this is a good match, we’ll invite you to our corporate office and manufacturing facility in Florida for an informative and exciting day with our team. At the conclusion of your visit, we’ll make a decision about awarding you a franchise to join the Valpak team. If you are approved for the franchise, we expect that you will be prepared to make a decision within three business days.